Wrightbus has delivered 12 Kite Hydroliner hydrogen fuel cell-electric single-deck buses to WestVerkehr in Germany and expects to have supplied “around 130” such vehicles in that country by the end of 2025, it says.
Their arrival takes to 43 the number delivered to German customers so far. The WestVerkehr buses will be used in the towns of Erkelenz, Heinsberg and HĂĽckelhoven close to the border with the Netherlands.
They complement 31 Kite Hydroliners already supplied to Regionalverkehr Koln in Cologne, with that customer having eight further examples on order and options for more. Deliveries to Saarbahn in SaarbrĂĽcken (28), to Cottbusverkehr in Cottbus (46) and to Vestische StraĂźenbahn in Herten (five) are also earmarked for 2025.
On the WestVerkehr deal, Wrightbus CEO Jean-Marc Gales says he is “delighted” that the customer in Germany “is bringing our zero-emission hydrogen buses onto the roads of North Rhine-Westphalia.”
Continues Mr Gales: “This benefits the environment and ensures that people in the region breathe better air. What means just as much to us is the excellent partnership and cooperation with WestVerkehr. I would like to sincerely thank Managing Director Udo Winkens and his team.”
Green hydrogen for the WestVerkehr buses will come from a 2MW electrolyser that includes a fuelling station and is part of the H2HS project. Electricity is sourced from renewable energy plants, and in the first stage, 70 tonnes of hydrogen will be produced per year with scope to increase that to 200 tonnes per year.
Mr Winkens notes that procurement of the Kite Hydroliner buses underlines WestVerkehr’s “commitment to environmentally friendly, future-orientated mobility.”
He continues: “Together with the partners of the H2HS consortium, we are actively driving forward the transformation of local public transport – innovative, emission-free, and close to the people.”
Mr Gales has also acknowledged the manufacturer’s own teams for their work on the project. Wrightbus has opened a European service centre in Brühl near Cologne to provide support services.
“Under the AllServiceOne brand, our team of experts maintains and services all types of buses here in the heart of Europe,” he continues. “This includes those from other manufacturers and with different drive types.”
Wrightbus plans to open further member of what it terms a comprehensive network of services centres in mainland Europe, “replicating the network that already exists in the UK.”
